The Life and Times of Scott Wormer: With a Twist
by skywalker76
Summary: The musings of Scott Wormer as he contemplates where life has taken him since the summer of 1970.


**The Life and Times of Scott Wormer: With a Twist.**

Title: The Life and Times of Scott Wormer: With a Twist.

Summary: The musings of Scott Wormer as he contemplates where life has taken him since the summer of 1970.

Set: In Canon, after the final scene of Now and Then.

Spoilers: Set after the movie, so anything is fair game.

Rating: K+

Length: One-shot

Theme: This story focuses on the now adult character of Scott Wormer and what his life has become in the years since he was twelve.

Archive: Yes, but please tell me first and keep my name and disclaimer attached.

Disclaimer: I do not own Now and Then or the characters depicted. They belong to Lesli Linka Glatter, I. Marlene King and New Line Cinema. This is written for fun not profit. As a debt ridden college student, it would be utterly pointless suing me.

It was a sunny and slightly breezy Friday afternoon, as the shiny black open top BMW made its way leisurely along Interstate 74, heading towards the small town of Shelby, Indiana. The radio, which for the past twenty minutes had been blaring out the latest baseball statistics to the mostly oblivious driver, suddenly responded to a listener song request that had been telephoned in and started to play The Jackson Five's classic hit '_I Want You Back_'. This song immediately caught the attention of the male driver, who instinctively reached for the dial to turn up the volume and unconsciously moved his free foot to the beat. He chuckled and shook his head in reverie at the sudden surge of memories this particular song brought back to him.

To a casual observer, Scott Wormer was a moderately attractive man in his mid thirties. He was just over six feet tall, with piercing blue eyes and short dark blonde hair that had a tendency to fall over his forehead, no matter how many times he combed it back. Scott was good looking without being flashy. Not devastatingly handsome, but well worth a second glance with his still boyish features and a disarming smile that could easily light up a room. This smile had set the heart of many a female fluttering over the years.

Not that this fact really mattered to Scott. There was only one female he was interested in these days. She was waiting for him at home, having finished her shift early. As the teenage Jackson's warbled through the high pitched chorus, Scott smiled to himself as thoughts of his girlfriend immediately raced through his mind. The strong minded, independent woman; who also happened to be his best friend! She was the one woman in the World he would do absolutely anything for and he was pretty sure she knew it. He'd always been whipped when it came to her.

Scott was leaning back against his seat as he drove home, the sleeves of his suit jacket pushed up to the elbows and his tie loosened with the top button of his shirt undone. He rested one elbow casually against the open window of the convertible, the soft breeze gently rustling his blonde bangs and tickling his ears. Scott hummed absently to the lyrics he hadn't heard in a long time, but had never forgotten. He knew it was often the way when a classic song popped up on the radio. The long buried memories and emotions associated with hearing an old song from a distant, long ago past come flooding back with a vengeance and threaten to overwhelm the conscious mind.

This was certainly the case for Scott. Whenever he heard music from The Jackson's he was instantly transported back to his twelve year old self, during that long and perfect summer of 1970. He was no longer a responsible adult with his own company, but a cocky adolescent again, strutting along the Shelby streets when the song was a hit, playing in every store and on every portable radio. Scott remembered how his brother Jesse had driven their Mom insane by playing the record over and over again, back in the sitting room of their old house. Scott chuckled as he recalled Mrs. Wormer actually grabbing the record off of Jesse one afternoon, after he'd played it ten times.

The familiar road sign, indicating the exit for Shelby, finally appeared in the distance and Scott sighed with relief, knowing it wouldn't be long now before he was home again. He only made the trip out of town, one weekend a month, to check on the progress of his company office in Springfield, Illinois. As the office was out of state, he knew it would make more sense to stay overnight in a Motel and drive home the following day, rather than making the round trip in the course of a single day.

However Scott knew this would mean being without his girlfriend for long weekends and this was simply not an option for him. The crazy hours she worked meant there was no chance of her being able to accompany him and he didn't relish the idea of spending lonely nights in a cheap Motel. Therefore he had always resolved to drive back the same day and be home before nightfall, a decision he never regretted.

As the strains of '_I Want You Back_' faded out to be replaced by the radio announcer blandly stating the current news headlines, Scott mentally switched off again as he drove and began to reflect on his life so far. The song had brought about the realisation of what a long and interesting road he had travelled since the day he first heard it. When he was only twelve years old and had never even travelled out of state. A smart aleck kid, who loved to terrorise the neighbourhood. He had also, of course, taken a rather twisted pleasure in tormenting the rival girl gang from school, especially the feisty and temperamental tomboy, Roberta Martin. It was only later that he realised he actually liked her and had been unwittingly trying to gain her attention.

He allowed his mind to drift back to that summer again as he drove into Shelby, through the familiar town, the roads and buildings of his childhood. It always amazed him just how little the town had changed in over twenty years. Remembering a time when life still seemed so simple and innocent. His thoughts dwelled on Roberta; his first crush, the first girl he'd ever kissed. The first kiss! That tense and nerve racking rite of passage; the details and recipient of which are forever ingrained in memory.

Scott drove down the main street, past the old courthouse and thought back to just how nervous he had been that night, when he'd asked Roberta if he could kiss her. Sitting there with her on the swing seat in her back yard; nervously gulping his soda after their impromptu late night session of one on one and knowing that it was now or never! The tight knot in his stomach, the clammy palms, the sweat beading on his forehead and under his armpits, the racing heart and the heady anticipation! They had all been present; in that clumsy, inexperienced manner that is all too common during the first time and is somehow never really an issue afterwards.

Roberta. The tough talking, spirited and fiercely loyal girl next door who could throw a punch and hit a baseball better than any boy in the neighbourhood. The girl who also had a hidden vulnerable side that she'd gradually allowed him to see. Roberta was the first girl he'd ever thought of as being anything other than a parasite, put on the Planet solely to irritate boys. Up until then that had been his unwavering assessment of all girls. And his brothers had continued to feel that way about the female species for several years, long after he'd changed his mind about them.

Since their first tentative kiss, Scott had continued to have many stolen moments with Roberta, all through Junior High School. She had never come right out and admitted to her three best girl friends that the two of them had been seeing each other. Similarly he had never admitted the fact to his brothers and had winced as they continued to openly bad mouth her in public and she them. It had been a clandestine affair in more ways than one as they'd both grown older.

Scott had eventually realised that Roberta's friends were all fully aware of their so called relationship after Teeny caught them kissing on his driveway. It was just never spoken of out loud. As they had entered High School, they had both agreed to try dating other people. However Scott had soon realised that none of the girls he'd taken out as a teenager could ever hold a candle to Roberta. The feeling was clearly mutual as none of their half hearted attempts at dating other people had ever lasted long and sooner or later they had always gravitated back to each other.

In Senior Year, Scott had bitten the bullet and asked Roberta to the Prom, fully expecting her to refuse, as she was still quite a tomboy and they had never been on a public date before. However, to his delighted surprise, she'd accepted and had even worn a dress. It was the first time in six years that she'd been unconcerned with being seen out in public with him and Scott felt he could finally announce to the World that she was his girlfriend. Something he had wanted to do since they were twelve.

When it was time for college, Scott had known then it was all over. Roberta had got into Princeton to study Medicine, whereas he had got into The University of the State of Indiana. With several states between them they were both heading towards very different futures. Their school yard romance had to end, as they both prepared to enter the real World. A life outside of their safe and protected World in Shelby!

Roberta had also come to the same realisation and they'd said their goodbyes, before leaving Shelby and going off in different directions, both literally and figuratively. Still Scott had felt wistful the day he'd left home and gone off to study at the Kelley School of Business. Roberta had been such a huge part of his life for six years. It was strange and somewhat disconcerting to even think of starting over without her. Not having her by his side was something he had never wanted to consider.

A sudden impulse led Scott to take the scenic route home, so he could drive past his and Roberta's old High School. He sighed as he drove past the familiar building that had also changed little since he was a student there. He remembered how he'd always believed he would end up miles from Shelby. In another state, maybe even another country. Scott had always had ambitions and much like the other kids he'd grown up with, from the Gaslight Addition; he had dreams of escaping the rather boring town of Shelby and building a future somewhere else. Somewhere exciting!

However, he hadn't been offered a basketball scholarship anywhere tempting and decided Indiana University was as good as anywhere to study Business. At least he could still leave home and pledge a fraternity. Scott smiled as he remembered how proud his parents had been. Both his parents had started work straight after High School therefore Scott Wormer was First Generation College! No longer the local troublemaker, he was now a teenager with a bright future.

He had run into his present girlfriend, who was a transfer student, on campus during his undergraduate year. The moment he saw her heading towards him, dark hair swinging and with four books balanced crookedly under one arm, he had known she was the one for him and there could be no other. They had started dating and continued to see each other up until graduation and beyond. She was his soul mate.

A few days before his graduation, Scott had run into an old friend from High School, Kenny Thompson. Kenny was visiting his older sister who was in the year below Scott and had spied him on campus. They had gone for a beer to catch up and celebrate Scott's forthcoming graduation and Kenny had mentioned he was returning to Shelby to start a computer game software company. Kenny then let slip he was looking for a business partner and asked Scott if he'd be interested. Scott had seen what a great business opportunity this was and had quickly accepted.

Upon graduation, they moved back to Shelby, sharing an apartment only three blocks away from Scott's old house, where his parents continued to reside. The business had started slowly, before taking off on an unprecedented scale, when the company had capitalised on the growing, lucrative games market. The company expanded, with several offices being opened out of state. Kenny had eventually moved to New York to open an office over there, leaving Scott to continue running the Shelby office.

Scott had been more than happy with this arrangement. His girlfriend had also decided to move to Shelby after graduating, to be near him, although she had insisted on taking her own apartment, initially, whilst she established her own career. After Kenny had moved out, Scott had asked her to move in with him. She had agreed and they both sold their apartments to buy a new house together, the other side of town from the Gaslight Addition. They had lived there for several years now.

In truth the business had become so successful that Scott now had the money to move anywhere he wanted. Ironically, now he had the chance and the means to move away, he no longer wanted to leave Shelby. His girlfriend was settled there and his life and home were wherever she was. Scott had even become involved with the local community, which he always found humorous, considering his misspent youth.

His girlfriend had told him to consider it as penance for all the trouble he'd caused as a kid. Nowadays you would be hard pressed to find a more upstanding citizen than Scott Wormer. He even coached basketball part time to kids from his old High School. A wing of the new local library that he'd helped to fund had also been named after him, in honour of the small town boy made good. The boy who'd left Shelby as a reckless teenager and had returned to the town as a mature and thoughtful adult.

Scott took a right turn on the block that led to his home. As he drove along the quiet, leafy, suburban sidewalk, he let his mind drift to the other one time troublemakers of Shelby. His three younger brothers! They had been so little back then. Jesse, always the quietest of the brothers, had been eleven. Exactly a year younger than Scott! Todd, the long haired rebel had only been nine. And little Kyle, the baby of the Wormer family, had just had his seventh birthday. Scott recalled how Kyle had always loved to tag along with his older brothers, even though he was really too small to get involved with most of their schemes or be much use during a baseball or softball game.

As he turned onto the driveway of his house and pulled up, Scott killed the ignition of the BMW and sat for a moment, thinking about his brothers and their lives back then. When they'd all still lived in the same house and shared bedrooms. He and Jesse had shared a room, while Todd shared a smaller bedroom with Kyle. They'd all had bunk beds and Scott had always had dibs on the top bunk. It was ironic that he'd been the only one of the Wormer boys to go off to college, leaving home at eighteen and everyone, including him, had assumed he would never return. Yet here he was, over twenty years later, while his younger brothers were all long gone.

Jesse had stayed in Shelby while he trained to be an electrician. He had started working for a local company, before applying for a transfer to their office in North Carolina several years later. This led to Jesse moving there permanently. He had married a nurse named Sally and they now had two children, six year old Jesse Junior and four year old Abby. Scott grinned as he thought of his girlfriend jokingly referring to them as the next generation Wormer brats. Jesse seldom returned to Shelby, so Scott and his girlfriend often travelled to North Carolina to visit them.

Todd, always the noisiest and most energetic of the four, with the too long hair, that he had spent all summer flicking repeatedly out of his eyes, had joined the Marines right after graduation. This had caused all the Wormer family much amusement as he had finally had to have his hair cut and now he sported an almost shaved head. Todd had settled down since joining the core, finding a release for his boundless energy and he had also gotten to travel all over the World. He was currently based in Washington, where he had recently become engaged to a fellow Marine named Nancy.

Only Kyle seemingly had no direction after leaving High School. As the baby of the family, he had always been spoiled and over indulged. After graduation he depressingly realised he had no idea what he wanted to do with his life. During a fit of indecision and desperation, he had packed his bags and gone off travelling, eventually settling in India where he helped to build a school. He was currently residing somewhere deep in the Amazon jungle, where he was working on a six month conservation project. Little Kyle; who had grown up to be the wandering Wormer!

Scott finally got out of the car, slamming the door behind him and heading for the front door, whistling and tossing his house keys in the air, before catching them one handed. He knew it was a curious turn of events that he had ended up being the only Wormer brother to still be living in Shelby. Sometimes he had felt like a failure for moving back again, after finally getting out of the town. Other times, like now when he considered his successful business and the life he shared with his girlfriend, he knew without a doubt that it was the smartest move he had ever made.

The thought of seeing her again immediately caused a warm feeling in the pit of his stomach and suddenly all thoughts of his childhood; his family and his old crush were banished from his mind. How he loved her. They had only been apart for the day but he still missed her. Standing here at the door of their home, the past was once again far away and he was firmly back in the present. He unlocked the door and headed through the pristine hallway to the sitting room, knowing she would be home already and waiting for him. "Honey I'm home." He yelled cheerily.

His girlfriend appeared through the outer door that led to the study, where she had been writing up some notes. "Hey there." She smiled as she approached him and leaned in for a kiss. Scott gladly met her halfway. "Long day?" she asked, as she took his hand and dragged them over to the sofa, where they both sank down, grateful for a moment of togetherness.

"Yeah." Scott laced his fingers through hers and took the opportunity to snuggle up closer to her on the couch. "They were just playing The Jackson's on the radio. '_I Want You Back_.' Got me thinking about the old days. You know back when I was a kid here?"

His girlfriend smiled at this admission and squeezed his hand. "The old days huh?" she asked teasingly. "Were you thinking about your old girlfriend too? The one you mooned over all the way through High School?"

Scott laughed and reached up to gently tousle her dark hair. "How could I be thinking about her when my dream girl is right here with me now?"

His girlfriend shook her head and shot a wry grin at him. "Well for what it's worth Scott, I'm glad you're not still pining for her. From what you've told me she sounded like a bit of a psycho back then."

Scott chuckled at this statement. "I wouldn't say she was a psycho exactly. More misunderstood. When I look back now I simply see her as a spirited girl fighting to make her way in a man's World. And from what I hear, she succeeded too."

His girlfriend smiled at this and Scott took the opportunity to tip her chin up with his free hand, so she had no option but to look him directly in the eye. He gazed meaningfully into her hazel eyes and spoke quietly to her. "The way I see it she's perfect, just the way she is and I don't want her to ever change." She just looked at him without moving or replying and he continued somewhat hesitantly, hoping he wasn't pushing it. "I'm just so glad you decided to transfer to the University of the State of Indiana to do your residency. Otherwise I might have lost you forever."

This time she did laugh as she reached out with her free hand to stroke his cheek. "No way Scott! You could never have lost me. As soon as I left home and I was suddenly miles away from you that's when I knew. I didn't want a life that didn't include you. Whether I liked it or not, you'd become a part of me. I only hope you feel the same?"

Scott just gazed at her. "Always." He told her quietly. There was a slight pause before she spoke again, the true weight of the words they had both left unspoken between them for far too long, slowly settling in on them.

"I forgot to tell you Chrissy finally had her baby today. A little girl!"

"No kidding." Scott shook his head. "So how was the delivery then Doc?"

"Painful, but ultimately fulfilling!" She answered honestly. I told her we'd go over there tomorrow and visit them, if that's okay with you?"

"That's fine." Scott replied. "As long as Chrissy doesn't go on about us living in sin again the whole time we're there."

"Don't worry. If she does I'll deflect her!" His girlfriend laughed. "I think right now she's just too happy with life to really care anyway."

"Then that makes two of us!" Scott told her sincerely. She smiled at him and they continued to snuggle on the sofa for a few more precious moments, happy to let the rest of the World rush by without them for a while.

Scott knew as they sat there snuggled on the sofa that this was all that really mattered in life. He was home. Home with his girlfriend! His soul mate! His best friend!

Home with Doctor Roberta Martin!

**THE END. **


End file.
